US President Donald Trump has fired Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, naming CIA Director Mike Pompeo as his replacement.
Thanking Mr Tillerson for his service, Mr Trump tweeted that his new top diplomat would do “a fantastic job”.
Mr Tillerson, a former chief executive of ExxonMobil, was only appointed to the job just over a year ago.
The president also nominated Gina Haspel to become the first female director of the CIA.
Where it went wrong for Rex
What was Trump’s reason?
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Tuesday, Mr Trump said his differences with Mr Tillerson came down to personal “chemistry”.
“We got along actually quite well, but we disagreed on things,” said the president.
“When you look at the Iran deal, I think it’s terrible. I guess he thought it was OK.
“I wanted to either break it or do something and he felt a little bit differently, so we were not really thinking the same.
In October, Rex Tillerson responded to a report he called Mr Trump ‘a moron’
Image caption In October, Rex Tillerson responded to a report he called Mr Trump ‘a moron’
“With Mike, Mike Pompeo, we have a very similar thought process. I think it’s going to go very well.
“Rex is a very good man, I like Rex a lot.”
Mr Tillerson is the latest in a long list of senior officials who have either resigned or been fired since Mr Trump took office.
Source BBC
